Child Life Specialist - Pediatrics - Extra Help

Salary : $100,726.08 - $121,950.40 Annually

Location : Throughout the County of Santa Clara, CA

Job Type : Full-Time / Part-Time

Job Number : 25-R1B-A

Department : Santa Clara Valley Health Care - Valley Medical Center

Opening Date : 02 / 04 / 2025

Closing Date : 2 / 18 / 2025 11 : 59 PM Pacific

Bargaining Unit : 01

Description

Definition

Under direction, coordinates, and directs the day-to-day operations of Child Life Services; plans, evaluates, develops, and implements a therapeutic program; provides psychologically and developmentally appropriate interventions to ensure cognitive and emotional growth.

Distinguishing Characteristics

The Child Life Specialist classification is distinguished from the Recreation Therapist classification series in that the Recreation Therapist series provides recreation-based treatment programs to help patients adjust to their disability and integrate into the community, whereas the Child Life Specialist provides social, emotional, and developmental support to pediatric patients and their families throughout hospitalization, illness, disability, and treatments.

The Power of WE : Together, we can make a

greater impact. Bringing better care and expanding healthcare services across

the community.

Santa Clara

Valley Healthcare (SCVH) is the second largest public health care system in

California and includes three acute care hospitals, 14 clinics and 60

specialty and sub-specialty services. Our mission is to provide high-quality,

accessible healthcare and excellent service to everyone in Santa Clara County.

Santa

Clara Valley Medical Center - SCVMC

is a full-service tertiary acute care teaching hospital with 699 licensed beds

providing a wide range of specialized services, including Rehabilitation, Burn,

Trauma, and NICU. SCVMC was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #6

Rehabilitation Hospital in the nation and #1 in the West and designated as a

2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care, Heart Failure, Stroke, Hip

Fracture, and Pneumonia.

O'Connor

Hospital - O'Connor Hospital (OCH)

is a 358 licensed bed acute care facility offering a full range of inpatient

and outpatient medical, surgical and specialty programs to residents of Santa

Clara County. It was founded in 1889 as one of the first hospitals in the

county. OCH has grown significantly over the past five years in both its

inpatient volume and its Emergency Department visits. Along with these volume

increases other ancillary and clinical departments like imaging, lab, pharmacy,

and respiratory have seen growth as well.

Louise Regional Hospital - Since

1989, St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) has been caring for the residents in

Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, offering a wide range of inpatient and

outpatient medical specialties. SLRH has 93 beds, is a Designated Primary

Stroke Center, and is the only acute care hospital in the area. Located in

Gilroy, SLRH maintains a CALSTAR 2 emergency helicopter base on the

premises.

font-size : 10.5pt">

Learn more about

Santa Clara Valley Healthcare : https : / / www.scvh.org / home and follow us on : LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com / company / county-of-santa-clara /

font-size : 10.5pt">

Facebook

www.facebook.com / sccjob

font-size : 10.5pt">

Instagram | www.instagram.com / sccjobs /

font-size : 10.5pt">

Newsletter

Subscription | Sign Up

Typical Tasks

The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all duties listed.

• Assesses the emotional and therapeutic needs of assigned pediatric patients and families to determine the support and therapeutic play interactions needed during the medical experience;
• Formulates and revises a plan of interaction to develop appropriate strategies for child life care in conjunction with other health team members based on assessment of patient and family; documents assessments and all interactions in medical record charts;
• Engages and energizes children and families by coordinating special events, entertainment, activities, and donations related to assigned areas;
• Evaluates child life services by collecting information used to monitor performance improvement and developing and completing performance improvement projects;
• Maintains a safe environment, including activity / storage area related to assigned unit / clinic to ensure patient safety;
• Maintains age-appropriate supply of therapeutic play materials (e.g., arts, crafts, games, books); evaluates the need for equipment and supplies;
• Provides parental and sibling education and support regarding effects of hospitalization, tests, other medical procedures, and / or illness;
• Facilitates social interactions between patients and families to foster parent-to-parent, peer support, school re-entry and normal social development;
• Provides supportive relationships, emotional support, information and role modeling and uses developmentally appropriate methods, including pre-operative teaching for patients and families to prepare them for treatments and procedures;
• Accompanies pediatric patients and families to medical procedures, applying educational and divisional coping techniques;
• Provides wound care distraction as needed;
• Provides grief and loss support to patients and families;
• Provides therapeutic child life care, including developmentally and age appropriate play / recreational activities and teaching effective coping procedures for assigned patients in individual and group settings, consistent with developmental needs;
• Functions as a contributing member of the health care team; collaborates with the multidisciplinary team to advocate for patient and family needs;
• Provides clinical supervision to therapy interns, students and volunteers; ensures that clinical performance evaluations are completed on assigned services;
• Assumes responsibility for own professional development and practice;
• May be assigned as a Disaster Service Worker (DSW), as required
• Performs other related duties, as required.

Employment Standards

Sufficient education, training, and experience to demonstrate the ability to perform the above tasks, plus the possession and direct application of the following knowledge and abilities :

One (1) year full-time experience as a certified Child Life Specialist.

Possession of a Master's Degree in Child Life or closely related field may substitute for (1) year of required experience as a certified Child Life Specialist.

Special Requirements

Knowledge of :

Ability to :

Physical Requirements

The County offers comprehensive first-class medical, dental, and vision benefits plans for County employees and their dependents, including plans with no deductibles, no co-pays, no co-insurance, and no prescription drug co-pays. Learn more

The County also offers generous paid time off with significant vacation, sick time, and 13 paid County holidays annually! Details are included in the with the bargaining unit applicable to the job classification.

In addition to the amazing perks above, the County also offers the additional benefits below.

Retirement Benefits

The County offers robust retirement plans including a (similar to the private sector's 401(k) plan) and the In addition to lifetime retirement income available through the CalPERS pension plan, the 457(b) Deferred Compensation plan provides a great way to save for retirement and supplement the defined benefit pension available to employees. These plans help our employees build a plan for their future and contribute to their family's long-term financial well-being.

Health Flexible Spending Account

The empowers employees to manage healthcare expenses efficiently with tax-free contributions (up to $3,200 for the 2024 calendar year). Secure tax-free solutions for your healthcare expenses and enjoy the flexibility to manage your healthcare finances effectively with the HFSA.

Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP)

The enables employees to utilize tax-free funds for dependent care services, facilitating a convenient and cost-effective approach for managing your dependent care expenses. The County also offers the , an employer-funded DCAP, for employees with annual income under $120,000.

Life and AD&D

The County offers life and disability benefits including , Insurance, These benefits ensure financial security and income support when you and your family need it most.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The County prioritizes employee mental health and well-being and offers a top-tier through Concern providing confidential counseling sessions covering stress, anxiety, relationships, grief, as well as financial / legal services, personal coaching, child and elder care referrals, and comprehensive crisis support.

Employee Wellness

The offers free wellness programing, fitness classes and resources; including Elevate My Wellness an all-in-one platform designed to elevate your well-being journey.

Education Reimbursement

A generous program is available, including Education Reimbursement for employees seeking additional training and professional development.

NOTE : Benefit and Retirement information may vary from bargaining unit to bargaining unit. Due to changes in State Law, current pension provisions described in the union contracts are not automatically applied. Specific pension benefits for new hires who start on or after January 1, 2013 may be different than indicated in the union contracts.

Click here to access all Memoranda of Understanding and most recent Summary of Changes.

Please answer the following questions. Completion of the following supplemental questions is REQUIRED for your application and is an integral part of the evaluation process. Initially, it will be used to determine minimum qualifications. For those applicants meeting the employment standards, this information will be critical in the subsequent competitive assessment to identify those candidates to be invited to continue in the examination process. Your responses to the questions may also be reviewed and scored in a Competitive Rating evaluation process based on pre-determined rating criteria. Your answers should be as complete as possible, as no additional information will be accepted from applicants once the Competitive Rating evaluation has begun. Please include the name of employer, job title, dates of employment and number of hours worked per week for questions asking about your experience. A response of "see resume" or "see application" will deem your application incomplete. Vague, incomplete or non-responsive answers could result in no or low scores in a competitive rating process. Do you understand this requirement?

The list established will be used for temporary extra help assignments for peak and unusual work. Are you willing to accept a temporary extra help assignment? (Extra Help)

Do you possess a valid certificate in Child Life?

If you answered yes to question #2, provide the month, year and institution you obtained your Child Life certificate. If none, enter N / A.

If you answered no to question #2, are you in the process of obtaining a certificate in Child Life?

If you answered yes to question #4, provide the month, year and institution you are expected to complete and obtain a Child Life certificate. If not in the process of obtaining a certificate, enter N / A. If already possess a Child Life Certificate, enter Possess Certificate.

Do you have experience working with Pediatric patients in a hospital setting?

Describe your experience working with Pediatric patients in a hospital setting. If none, enter N / A.

Do you have experience performing pediatric recreational therapy in a hospital setting?

Describe your experience performing pediatric recreational therapy in a hospital setting. If none, enter N / A.

Do you have experience conducting clinical performance evaluations in a hospital setting?

Describe your experience conducting clinical performance evaluations in a hospital setting. If none, enter N / A.

How did you find out about this job?

If you selected an event / fair or other in the question above, please specify. If not, type N / A.

Required Question

Salary : $100,726 - $121,950